Patient S_. in Elephant Architecture
Revised: 04/14/2024 10:36 p.m.
- April 14, 2024, midnight
- |
- Public
I do not believe Patient S_ is schizophrenic. I believe he is autistic due to hard evidence in his discourse. I bring an Elrond Hubbard book in and he says, Dianetics. I say to him I am fasting, and he says, Ramadan. These are words and concepts the average staff knows nothing about. The more favored patients get treats from the The Staff. He is not well liked from the average staff, and when I finally do bring him a treat he hugs me, and it is a comfortable hug. He fits in with me like a good friend I had in college who had autistic traits. The Staff tends to treat him like garbage. He’s been locked in Looney Bins for almost 16 years and I realize that behavior is contagious. He is more like Gilbert Grape’s little brother than someone with schizophrenia. We have those, and they can’t give me a rewarding conversations like Patient S_ can.
All this, and I still can’t relate how on par he has been in certain aspects of life I am aware of. Let’s face it: the average worker isn’t very bright. They will despise anyone who confronts this truth. Patient S_ went to college. He is smarter than most of the staff and that angers them: his air of understanding and beliefs of self worth. Just because we are locked into this the asylum doesn’t negate that fact that we have rights. And we are a-people too. We are on the journey too.
Last updated April 14, 2024
TL ⋅ April 15, 2024
This entry makes me think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. We had to read and watch the movie and then write a two-day essay which I got 110% on. I didn't read the book, I only caught the last half of the movie and I missed the first day of the essay. I compared the protagonist to Jesus and my Jewish teacher loved it.
Our protagonist was lobotomized and put on display to incite fear in the residents. They were not allowed to stray from the mold. In a captured essence, that was my essay. Like Jesus who was crucified and hung on a cross for challenging the way things were.
I still couldn't do your job. Kudos to you. You can see their humanity, I would probably struggle. I would demonize them because of my fear of them.
Zampano TL ⋅ April 15, 2024
That is a fantastic novel and film. The book is actually written from Chief's perspective. I like the Theological Critique you gave. I actually had the opportunity to have lunch with one of the author's personal friends, Ed McClanahan, years ago.
So, that book/film actually raised awareness about the treatment of mental patients and lobotomies to the general public. There have since been a lot of laws and changes in this field and ours get pretty good treatment. Patient Abuse still happens occasionally. As far as a psychological study would go, I find some of the staff more psychologically interesting than the patients more often or not. The Stanford Prison Experiment portrays a revolutionary study on what an average person becomes when given power over another life.
As far as Patient S_ goes, he is somewhere safe whether or not he is Schizophrenic or Autistic.
I do appreciate it. It's not as bad as one's imagination can lead it to be. It's similar to taking care of exotic birds if you have ever been around them. Some birds become traumatized by bad owners and I've taken care of those types before. Macaws and birds with big beaks for cracking brazilian nuts and such can literally break your finger if they are being moody. You just learn to watch for their moods and keep your distance while you tend to them. Or keep your fingers away from the cage.